Pope Emeritus, "Two Popes," And Facepalm

This is what happens when a media without a substantial understanding of Catholicism starts trying to do some serious reporting on the Church--they keep on trying to force an institution with its roots in the eternal communion of the Trinity into the flat, horizonless secular perspective dominant in the West which sees all power emanating from money, sex, and political power.  Which then leads to serious chin-pulling speculation about the inevitable future difficulties of a pope emeritus walking the earth while a present pontiff serves as the rock.  Cause, well, you know...

All right, I suppose I can't blame them entirely. Some blame has to go to Catholic commentators such as Mr. Michael Walsh.  Mr. Walsh--really? Really? Excerpts:

...Catholic author Michael Walsh told CNN he was unsurprised by Benedict's desire for more privacy.

"He's a rather private man. He wants to get back to his books and his cats, he wants to get back to prayer," he said. "He's obviously coming towards the end of his life -- he's 85 -- so I understand that."

But, Walsh added, "what I don't understand is that he says he wants to be part of it all, which could be disastrous if you take it at face value," referring to Benedict's promise not to abandon the church.

"The notion that you have two people that claim to be pope, in a sense, is really going to be very confusing," Walsh said.

Vatican officials have said they don't anticipate any interference from Benedict as a new pope takes office.

Okay, so why is this such a bad bit of commentary?  First of all, because the quote as included from Mr. Walsh makes it sound like the Vatican has announced that the Pope intends to be gadding about, peeking in now and then, just to give a little input, nothing too overbearing...like some Dowager Pope of Vatican City.  Someone here is totally missing what's actually being said.

Hint: Catholicism does not accept that the only way to influence world events is by the use of power (political influence) or wealth (economic influence) or even worldly culture (even though that last was one of Blessed Pope John Paul II's greatest tools).  What's this strange source of Catholic power that the Pope intends to use in order to have influence on the Church and the world?  Gee!  What on earth could it be?  I mean, it's not as though he's indicated what that power was in his last statements these past few weeks.

Come, Anchoress! Make things well again! Excerpts:

...You might call it a supernatural gambit (and it wouldn’t be Benedict’s first) as in one move Benedict is both teaching by example and subverting the world in a way perhaps only the evil one understands; the prayers and penances of a Vicar of Christ, unimpeded by the trappings and distractions of an office, will be powerfully efficacious.

Those who think Benedict has simply lain down his staff do not understand that he lays it down to pick up a flamethrower of sorts. For however long he lives as a monastic, he will be a conduit of prayer, praise, adoration and supplication for the rest of the world. He is taking on huge duty.

In faith he will have delivered the powerful lesson that a life of faith is never without resources, because prayer extends beyond time and space, through darkness and into light.

And perhaps we will need to learn that lesson well, to face our future, together...

...We’ve never seen this before in our lifetimes; it’s remarkable to ponder that the pope, along with monastics around the world, will be so very focused on the selection of the next pope.

A monastery is a kind of powerhouse of prayer, but with distractions and impediments removed from its functioning; in enclosure, Benedict will become “a house of prayer and a temple of intercession” for us all. His hope and ours may reside, as it has before, in the simple yet profound reach of a monk.

And the Cardinal Secretary of State has made public a letter to the contemplative communities of the world in the last few days. It reads in part:

...His Holiness Benedict XVI has asked all the faithful to accompany him with their prayers as he commends the Petrine ministry into the Lord’s hands, and to await with trust the arrival of the new Pope. In a particularly urgent way this appeal is addressed to those chosen members of the Church who are contemplatives. The Holy Father is certain that you, in your monasteries and convents throughout the world, will provide the precious resource of that prayerful faith which down the centuries has accompanied and sustained the Church along her pilgrim path. The coming conclave will thus depend in a special way on the transparent purity of your prayer and worship.

The most significant example of this spiritual elevation which manifests the most authentic and profound dimension of every ecclesial action, the presence of the Holy Spirit who guides the Church, is offered to us by His Holiness Benedict XVI who, after having steered the barque of Peter amid the waves of history, has chosen to devote himself above all to prayer, contemplation and reflection...

This confusion on the part of some authors and the media is rather like the section in Carl Bernstein and Marco Politi's His Holiness about Pope John Paul II. There was one section in the book where they give a run down of all his great work, his many accomplishments, and wonder how on earth he does it all. Then a few paragraphs later, in a very casual, throwaway line sort of way, they mention how much he prayed. As though the two had nothing to do with each other.